Ethical Healthcare Issues

Introduction

“Keep watch also on the faults of the patients which often make them lie about the taking of things prescribed” (Hippocrates). Non-compliance with treatment is the extent to which a patient will not follow through with the medical advice of a physician. Non-compliance is a noteworthy issue in all patient populations and pertains to virtually all chronic diseases and settings. In a recent study it was reported that patients will only comply with treatment between 33% and 94% of the time (Miller, 2001). Compliance is an important issue due to how it directly relates to the prognosis of the sickness. The outcomes of non-compliance with medical treatments have been studied at length and have shown an increase in the lack of disease management and hospital admissions/readmissions. This trend of noncompliance has created ethical dilemmas for healthcare workers. The four ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice provide a guide on how to deal with this population.

Autonomy

Autonomy is the rights of individuals to have self-determination. In society, it is believed that individuals have the ability to make informed choices about personal issues. According to Ekman, Granger, Munthe, and Sandman (2012), “The concept of personal autonomy consists of four components: will or preference, decision, action, and the intermediate relation of because.” It is these four concepts that make up autonomy.

Essentially, for an individual to be self-determined, the preference should to be the individuals own. The individual needs to make a choice on what they prefer and then proceed with that choice. In order for an individual to be truly autonomous they must have their own preferences in which they make decisions and act in accordance with what they prefer. As stated by Ekman, Granger, Munthe, and Sandman (2012), “The fourth component- the ‘because’ component’- signals that the degree to which the person decides and acts on his own...